Inheritance
by Jelotto
Summary: Tai and Kari have just inherited their distant uncle's house. Now they're going to a small town in California to check it out. The house and the town seem pretty old and boring, but is there more to them than meets the eye?
1. Chapter 1

**Sup?**

**New story from me Jellotto. I've wanted to do a Tai and Kari story for a while but couldn't think of a good idea. I like this one quite a bit so I ran with it. **

**This one is dedicated to all the adventures my sister and I have had together. (Though they've never been quite as exciting as this.)**

**I don't own digimon**

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Tai frowned as he looked at the house in front of him. He checked the address on the sheet of paper in his hand. Unfortunately he had the right address. He looked over to his sister. She had a similar look to his on her face.

"So this is where crazy Eiji and Edna lived?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Tai replied, "We never really visited them though."

"Did we even ever meet them?" Kari asked.

"Maybe once at one of our family reunions. But that was a long time ago." Tai answered.

"So remind me again why we're here?"

"I guess Uncle Eiji willed us this place. So we're here to check it out to see what to do with it."

"That's weird that he'd will it to us."

"Well, Uncle Eiji always was a little off."

Tai took another look at the house. It looked like one of those houses no one lives in, pretty overgrown, and falling apart. It was only one story and looked like it might be a little bigger than the apartment the Kamiya's had in Japan.

"I suppose we should take a look inside." Tai said reluctantly.

Both of them grabbed their suitcase and headed for the house. Tai used the key he'd gotten in the mail from Uncle Eiji posthumously. Tai opened the door. The inside of the house wasn't much to look at but it was better than the outside, not that that was saying much. There were two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a little living room. The walls were painted a dull yellow that looked like it had been faded because it was very old.

"Eww! It smells so musty in here." Kari complained.

"Yeah, it really does."

Kari plopped down on the couch.

"Boy, I'm still pretty tired from that flight." She said.

"Well it was over twelve hours." Said Tai, "It takes a long time to get from Japan to California. Why didn't you sleep?"

"I did, but I never get that good of sleep on the plane. I always wake up because my neck hurts."

"I know what you mean. At least you didn't have to sit next to that fat guy. I had no room!"

"You got me on that one. I wonder if this TV works. Where's the remote?"

"You mean this thing?"

Tai held up a controller attached to the TV by what looked like a phone cord.

"I guess so…" sighed Kari.

Tai threw her the "remote" and Kari turned on the TV.

"Hmmm, static, static, colored static, C-Span…." Kari said, noting what she saw on the TV, "Well that's pretty useless."

"Pretty much." Tai agreed.

Suddenly Kari screamed. Tai turned to see what was the matter. Kari was on her feet flapping her arms. Tai saw a large roach come off her and fall on the floor. Quickly he stomped on it with his feet, making an audible crunch.

"Eww…" said Tai looking at the bug guts under his shoe.

"That was so gross!" exclaimed Kari, "Do we really have to stay here, Tai?"

"Yeah, unless you have money to stay in a hotel." Tai answered, "It'll only be for a few days then we'll meet up with the rest of the digidestined down in San Francisco."

"Why can't we go now?" whined Kari.

"Because they're not getting in till Saturday. Then we'll stay with some of Mimi's family."

"Fine." Said Kari crossing her arms.

"Besides we don't have to stay here all day. We could go out around town or something."

"I don't know how much there is to do in 'Scrumptail', California."

"Well we don't have to stay in this town, we could go to the beach. It's only like an hour or so I think."

"Kay anywhere but here would be good I think."

"You're probably right. It looks like no one's lived here for years…" said Tai as the knob for the air conditioner broke off in his hand.

"What do you think we should do with this place?" asked Kari, "It is ours…"

"I don't know. We could fix it up some and use it sometimes in the summer. But I think we should probably just sell it. It seems like it'd be a lot of work to fix it up," Answered Tai, "Besides we don't really come to this part of California that often."

"Yeah, but who do you think would by this place?"

"I don't know but real estate's pretty expensive here. So maybe this place would sell pretty well for a good profit too."

"I still don't see who would want this place."

"I know what you mean. What do you say we get out of here? The smell is starting to bug me."

"All right let's go."

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When Tai and Kari reached downtown which consisted of about 5 or so buildings clumped together. There was a grocery store, a restaurant, what looked like a town hall, a library/bookstore, and an ice cream parlor.

"Look Kari it looks like an old time ice cream shop." Exclaimed Tai pointing.

"Yeah, wanna get some." Asked Kari.

"Yeah, I do, it's really hot here." answered Tai holding up his hand to block the sun.

The ice cream shop had four ice cream flavors: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and chocolate chip. Tai got chocolate and Kari got strawberry. They sat at a little booth by the window.

"I was going to play something on the jukebox over there but there's nothing there past the 50's I think." Said Tai returning to his seat.

"That figures." Said Kari. Kari noticed the worker at the ice cream counter looking at them. She looked over and he turned away.

"Tai have you noticed something?" Kari asked, "A lot of people in this town have been staring at us. That old couple we passed on the way here, the lady pointed at us and whispered to her husband. It's kind of weirding me out."

"I wouldn't worry," said Tai in his usual confident manner, "It's probably just a small town thing. I'd imagine they don't see new people that often."

"All the same I'm not sure I like it. It gives me a bad feeling."

"Tai looked around the ice cream parlor to see if she was right. As he started to he saw quite a few stares change direction. Though he couldn't be sure all of their gazes had been directed at them in the first place. Though there was one person Tai took particular notice of.

"Hey you see that girl over there?" Tai asked Kari pointing to a girl with straight red hair sitting by herself at a table.

"Yeah, why?" Kari asked suspicious of Tai's intentions.

"She's kinda cute. I'm gonna go talk to her." Said Tai.

"Tai! I thought you're with Sora!" objected Kari.

"I am. I'm just going to say hi."

"In that case I'd better come with you."

"No wait look she's coming over here," said Tai checking his hair. Hikari sighed as Tai grabbed a mint out of his pocket.

"Hi there!" said Tai.

"Hi," said the girl, "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Taichi and this is my sister Hikari. You can call us Tai and Kari though." Said Tai.

"Oh Tai and Kari, you must be Eiji's nephew and niece." Said the girl.

"Yeah how'd you know?" asked Tai.

"This is a small town you know everything about just about everybody," She answered, "I'm actually kind of glad to meet you. There are not a lot of teenagers in this town."

She shook Kari and Tai's hands.

"I'm Nicole by the way. Welcome to Scrumptail. Why don't I show you around town? Though to be honest there isn't a lot to show you." Said Nicole.

Nicole explained the other four buildings around the ice cream parlour. All of the buildings were built around the 50's and had had little renovations since then. People around the town didn't really see the need for improvement. Nicole explained that most people that lived in the town were over forty. Most of the kids left the town when they got the chance. She herself was adopted.

"And this is the library. But they also sell books here." said Nicole.

"What are all these books?' asked Kari looking in the window, "There's a lot of them."

"That's 'The Legend of Cacodae'," answered Nicole, "A man brought it here a while back. It's really popular here in town. I can't say that for anywhere else because I really haven't left town that often."

"I've never heard of it." Said Kari, "I'll take a look at it though. I like reading. Can I check it out?"

"You'll need a library card. Tell you what I'll check it out for you." Said Nicole.

Inside the library, Tai and Kari, received a few more stares from the townsfolk. But it was starting to bother them less.

"Why are you checking this out?" asked the librarian, "Don't you already have a copy?"

"Yes," answered Nicole, "But my friends wanted to check this out."

"And who are your friends, dear?" asked the librarian.

"I'm Kari and this is my brother Tai." Kari answered.

"Oh, you must be Eiji's nephew and niece." Said the librarian.

"Wow everyone really does know everything about everyone in this town." Remarked Tai.

"Told you." Said Nicole.

"Well we've all been sort of expecting you after your uncle died. We heard he willed his house to you. I think he cared about you quite a bit." Said the librarian.

"Really? Because we hardly ever saw him." Said Tai.

"Oh yes. He told us quite a bit about you." Said the librarian, "All right here's your book. Enjoy!"

The three left to return to Tai and Kari's temporary residence. Nicole told them various things about the people who lived in the houses they passed, and asked them about the outside world.

"So everyone has cell phones?" Nicole asked, "There might be one phone in this whole town and I'm not sure it works."

"Yeah, I have right now," Tai said pulling out his phone, "Hmm no service. I guess we're pretty remote."

"Well here's our stop." said Kari as they reached the doorstep of Uncle Eiji's old house.

"Hey, do you think I could come in? I've never really been inside it before." Asked Nicole.

"I guess so, but I don't know why you would want to," said Tai, "There really is not much to see."

"Well let me see it anyway." Said Nicole.

Nicole went into the house first looking around like it was all very interesting.

"You can look around, I'm getting a drink of water." Said Tai.

"And I'm going to try and use this bathroom." Said Kari.

Tai returned from the kitchen and looked around for Nicole. He found her in his room looking through his suitcase. When she saw him she dropped what she was holding and stood up. Embarrassed, her hands were behind her back.

"I'm sorry. I'm just curious about the outside world." She said blushing.

"It's alright. Just ask next time." Said Tai.

"Okay, can I look at your stuff?" she asked.

"Sure." Said Tai.

Nicole went back to looking through Tai's things. She raised up one object of particular interest to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

It was Tai's digivice. Tai realized it might not have been a good idea to let her look through his stuff. But Tai had never been one for thinking ahead.

"That's uh… just some game device." Said Tai thinking on his feet.

"Really what game?" she asked pressing buttons on his digivice.

"Uh… Just some dumb monster game. It doesn't work anymore it broke on the plane." Said Tai.

"Oh alright," said Nicole putting the digivice down, "Well I'd better be going. It was nice to meet you."

"Same here, bye." Said Tai as Nicole left.

"Hey where'd Nicole go?" asked Kari coming out of the bathroom.

"She had to leave." Said Tai.

"By the way the toilet doesn't work." Said Kari.

Tai just groaned.

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That night Tai's sleep was interrupted when he heard footsteps outside his door. He sat up for a second and grabbed the heaviest thing he could reach. In this case it was a metal vase. The door of his room opened. Tai raised the vase over his head ready to strike. A figure walked through the door and Tai threw the vase at it.

"Ow!" said a familiar voice.

Tai reached for the lamp on the nightstand and turned it on. It was only Kari.

"Oh sorry," Tai apologized, "Why'd you come in here?"

"That room I'm staying in is really scary. And I thought I heard something outside." Said Kari sounding frightened.

Tai sighed, he knew what was coming next.

"Tai could I please sleep in here?" begged Kari.

"No, Kari." Answered Tai, "Go back to your room."

"Please, Tai? I'm going to keep bugging you if you don't." said Kari.

"Uhhh… Fine." Groaned Tai, "Just don't get on my side of the bed."

"Thanks Tai you're the best!" said Kari climbing into Tai's bed, "You won't even know I'm here."

"Yeah right." Said Tai.

_"Why couldn't Kari have the crest of courage?" _Thought Tai as he was confined to having only half the bed.

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Somewhere in the woods two figures met. They both wore a cloak and hood.

"So are they the ones? The ones we're looking for?" asked one figure.

"Yes, I saw one of those devices you were telling me about in their suitcase." Said the other figure.

"You've done well my servant." Said the first figure.

The second figure took off her hood and let her red hair fall over her cloak.

"Thank you master." She said.

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**Well what do think so far? I'd really like to know and I'm not telepathic, so leave me a review!**

**I might not update this for a little as I'm still writing two other stories. So we'll see when I get to this one.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The second installment of this story. Hope you like!**

**But first response to my wonderful reviewers:**

**x3AnimeLuver: Was that Nicole or wasn't it? keep reading to find out!**

**Nadal10sfan: Commas are for noobs. My editor is one so she put them in. lol.**

**I don't own digimon**

**R&R!**

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Tai and Kari sat in the living room of their new acquisition. Tai was playing something on his PSP and Kari was reading the book she had gotten the other day. Tai's PSP was running out of batteries so he put it away.

_"Gotta recharge this thing or I'll have nothing to do around here." _Tai thought to himself.

He stared into space for a bit wondering what to do. Then he turned to Kari.

"Hey Kari," He said, "Kari? Kar!?"

"What?" responded Kari finally looking up from her book.

"You must really like that book." Observed Tai.

"Well, it's just very interesting. The story reminds me a lot of our time in the digital world. There are eight kids from another world fighting but against four rulers and one grand ruler. Not three like with the dark masters."

"Do the kids have digimon?"

"No, they do have some sort of the power drawn from their strong attributes, like we did."

"Okay. So what happens?"

"That's the interesting part. In this story the kids are the enemy. They defeat three of the rulers and their grand ruler apollyon."

" What about the fourth ruler?"

"That one is Cacodae. He decides the children were too strong so he bides his time and gaining his strength. He vows to store his strength then go to the children's world and have his revenge."

"That is kind of interesting. Who wrote that?"

"I don't recognize the author. Myles something I think."

"You wanna get up for a little while and do something?"

"Sure what did you have in mind?"

"We could go to the beach for a while."

"Sounds good let's go."

As Kari and Tai packed things into the car, Nicole passed them.

"Are you guys going somewhere?" asked Nicole.

"Yeah, the beach!" said Tai.

"Really? Can I come? I don't get to go that often." Said Nicole.

"Sure hop in," Said Tai, "You can even have the front seat."

"Tai!" objected Kari.

"Come on Kar…" said Tai.

"It's alright you guys. I don't mind sitting in the back." Said Nicole to avoid a potential sibling conflict.

All three hopped in the car and Tai started it up.

"So do we need to stop by your house to pick up anything?" Tai asked.

"Don't think so. I don't have any stuff for the beach. I told you I don't really get to go." Answered Nicole.

"That's surprising. If I lived as close as you do to the California coast I'd probably live there!" exclaimed Tai.

"It's my parents mostly. They don't see any reason to leave." Said Nicole, "Oh, I should probably tell them where I'm going. So we should stop."

"Is it going to be okay with them?" Asked Kari.

"Yeah, it should be as long as I'm with you guys." Nicole said.

"Wait as long as you're with us?" Tai asked in confusion.

"Stop quick here's my house!" said Nicole ignoring the question.

Tai stopped and Nicole ran out.

"What was the whole with us about?" Tai asked Kari.

"I don't know. Maybe she just can't go alone." Kari said thoughtfully.

"Yeah that's probably it." Said Tai putting it out of his mind.

"I'm back!" said Nicole hurrying back into the car, "My parents say it's fine. Let's go!"

"Great! Then we're off!" said Tai heading for the highway.

"So do you have a swimsuit or anything?" Kari asked.

"No," said Nicole, "Like I said I don't really go any place where I'd need it."

"Well then we should get one for you." Kari said, "Tai look for a place where we can get one."

"All right, I'm on it." Tai said.

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"What do you guys think?" Nicole asked coming out of a changing room in her swimsuit, a brown bikini with a few spiral designs.

"Hot!" said Tai.

"Looking good!" agreed Kari.

"Thanks guys," said Nicole, "So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know about you guys but I'm going to go give surfing a try." Tai said heading off for a surf shop.

"I'm just going to relax in the sun with this book you gave me," Kari said, "wanna join?"

"Sure!" said Nicole.

Nicole and Kari watched as Tai tried to ride the waves. He spent more time in the water than on it. He was having fun though. The girls laughed as they watched Tai's attempts.

"Hey what's that on your back?" Kari asked looking at Nicole curiously.

"Oh, this? I don't really know. I've had it as long as I can remember," Nicole said, "You keep looking at it. Does it mean something to you?"

"No…I guess not it's just interesting I guess." Kari lied. She had to tell Tai about it later.

Just then a shadow blocked their sun. Kari looked up to see a muscular guy probably a little older than her.

"Hey, babe. I'm Kyle. You wanna go grab something over at the juice bar over there." He said sleazily.

"I don't think so." Said Kari.

"Not you," Kyle said, "You."

Kyle pointed to Nicole. Nicole looked up at him and pointed to herself as if to say, "who me?" Kyle nodded and smiled.

"Thanks but no thanks." Said Nicole.

"How bout just a kiss then?" asked Kyle sitting down next to Nicole.

"No, I don't think so." Said Nicole firmly.

"C'mon you. I know you want one." Said Kyle moving his lips closer to hers.

"She said no so leave her alone!" said Kari trying to stop him. Kyle was too strong though. He easily pushed Kari aside.

"Stop!" shouted Nicole. Kyle ignored her though.

Kyle was about to kiss Nicole, but he felt something very hard hit his head, knocking it to the ground. Kyle dusted the sand off his face and looked to see what had happened. Tai was standing before him. He had thrown his surfboard at Kyle to get him off Nicole.

"I think she told you to stop." Said Tai.

"What do you want prick?" Kyle asked standing up to his full height. He was bigger than Tai in every respect. In spite of that Tai held his ground. Kyle made a move at Tai like he was going to hit him. Tai didn't flinch.

"Whatever," Kyle said walking off.

"Thanks, Tai." Said Nicole, "That was really brave of you to stand up to that guy like that."

"Don't mention it. Courage is my specialty," Said Tai sitting down with the girls, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so." Said Nicole checking herself. Tai looked for a little while too to make sure she was all right. Something caught his eye, though it wasn't one of the things that usually catch guy's eyes.

"Hey, Kari," Tai whispered to Kari, "Did you see on Nicole's back?"

"Yeah, I know Tai, the crest of sincerity." Kari said.

"What's it doing there?" Asked Tai softly.

"I don't know. She said it's been there as long as she can remember." Kari said.

Both of them pondered the question as they relaxed on the beach. After a while the sun started to set.

"We should probably get going." Said Tai.

"Hey, Tai can we try and find a hotel to go to around here?" Kari asked, "I don't really want to stay in that house anymore."

"Sure, but it'll have to be pretty cheap. Our parents didn't give us that much money." Said Tai.

"Why don't you guys want to stay in town?" Nicole asked.

"The house we're staying doesn't have the nicest amenities." Said Tai.

"I think you should stay in Scrumptail. How am I going to see you?" Nicole asked a little bit of panic in her voice.

"We'll still stop by probably." Tai said a little surprised at Nicole's response, "No big deal."

"I'm sorry. It's just there's not a lot of people to hang out with in my town." Said Nicole, "I'd miss you."

"It's alright. I told you we'd still be around. We don't have a ton of friends in California so we'll get you when we want to do something." Said Kari.

"It won't be the same. You guys should stay." Said Nicole.

"Don't worry. C'mon Kari let's go back and get our stuff." Said Tai.

Nicole was pretty silent on the trip back. It looked like she was deep in thought. They dropped her off at her house. She ran out of the car after saying a quick "bye".

"Wow. I didn't know Nicole would be so shaken up about us leaving," Said Tai, "Though I guess if I lived in this little town I'd go a little stir-crazy too."

Kari nodded as they drove back to their house. When they got there they started packing their stuff back up.

"Tai I can't find my D3." Kari said.

"Where's the last place you had it?" Tai asked.

"If I knew that it wouldn't be lost." Said Kari.

"Well you look for it. I'm going to put my stuff in the car. I'll be waiting for you in there."

Kari went through all the things in her backpack again. She could have sworn she left it in the front pouch. She looked through her suitcase trying to feel for it. She felt a little bit of loose change but not much else.

"_Where could it have gone?" _She wondered.

Tai came back in.

"I don't think we can leave tonight," Said Tai, "For some reason the car won't start."

"What?" said Kari disappointed.

"Yeah, It's the strangest thing. I've been trying for fifteen minutes and it's not working."

"You mean we have to stay in this awful place another night?" asked Kari hoping the answer would be "no".

"Sorry sis. But I think so. I'll take a look at the car tomorrow. Besides now you have more time to find your D3."

"This stinks!" said Kari folding her arms in frustration.

Tai couldn't argue with her on that. But how bad could staying in this town for another night be?

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**There's the million dollar question. Keep reading to see what happens next!**

**Please review! Having people interact with your work is one of the most rewarding parts of writing.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I've taken so long to update this... I've been busy and tired and lacking motivation. But now I've mustered enough up to get another chapter of this done.**

**Thanks to reviewers you really help improve this story and move it along. Props to x3AnimeLuver and Moon89. You guys rule like Genghis Khan over Eastern Asia.**

**I don't own digimon or else this would have been one of the episodes for the show, or a movie for the series, or something...**

**Anywho, here's the story hope you enjoy R&R**

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"Tai wake up!" said Kari pushing Tai trying to make him move.

Tai tried to ignore her but she was persistent.

"Uuunnnnhh," Tai groaned, "What is it Kari?"

He opened up his eyes. It was still dark .

"What time is it?" demanded Tai.

"2:30." Answered Kari.

"2:30!?" Shouted Tai, "There had better be a good reason for why you woke me up."

"I heard something outside. I think there's something out there." Said Kari.

"Not this again," said Tai, "I bet it's just the wind."

"Could you go check?" asked Kari.

"Kari, I'm sure it's nothing. Now go to sleep." Said Tai rolling over so he wouldn't be facing Kari.

Just then they both heard something outside. It sounded like a something metal being dragged on the ground.

"See? There it is again." said Kari.

"That's weird," Said Tai, "Alright I'll take a look."

Tai got up, stretched then went to the window. He grabbed a corner of the blinds and lifted. Tai blinked trying to keep his eyes open. He looked out the window. Staring from the other side of the glass were two glowing yellow eyes. They were all that was visible under the darkness of a cloak and hood that hid the face underneath.

"Aahhh!" Tai yelled jumping back. He was wide awake now.

"I told you there was something out there." Said Kari.

"Yeah," said Tai, "I'm going to check it out."

"Okay." Said Kari.

"Just stay here and keep the doors locked. I'll knock three times when I want to come in."

"Are you sure this is a good idea Tai?" asked Kari, "Whatever it is that was outside might hurt you."

"No two bit crook in a hood is going to get the best of me. Besides I've got to take care of him or he'll be trouble later. Why don't you call the police, too. Hopefully this town has that."

"I know I can't stop you. So don't get yourself killed."

"I'm on it." Said Tai.

Tai grabbed a pole from the closet used for hangers. He didn't want to go out unarmed. He took his weapon and went out of the house. As he closed the door behind him, he looked around for the hooded figure. Tai saw the cloak moving towards the forest near the house. Tai went after the cloaked figure.

Tai ran into the forest trying to keep track of whoever was in the cloak. He didn't want he, she or whatever it was to get away, and be able to come back. Tai was having trouble keeping up as he had to dodge shrubs and other obstacles. The cloaked figure seemed to move through the forest effortlessly. It was almost as if the cloaked figure was floating over the ground.

Tai tripped over a root. When he got up but he couldn't see the cloaked figure anymore.

"Damn!" exclaimed Tai. He looked around and didn't see anything. Just the faint dark outlines of trees. He began to set out for home but he didn't know exactly what direction it was. Tai stopped for a moment trying to remember anything that might help him get back to the house. As he thought, he heard something in the distance. It was creepily rhythmic, like chanting. Tai decided to go check it out. As he walked closer to the sound he saw a light in the distance.

"What the?" Tai asked no one in particular.

From behind a tree Tai watched and couldn't believe what he saw.

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Kari locked the door to the bathroom and sat waiting for Tai to come back. She hadn't really wanted Tai to leave but she trusted him. Kari picked up her cell phone and dialed 911. No service. She'd already tried the phone in the house. It had been disconnected.

_"It's alright Kari. Relax. Tai will be back soon then we'll figure out what to do." _She told herself.

Kari's hands wouldn't stay still. She couldn't take just sitting here waiting, plus the bathroom smelled real bad. She spotted the book next to her, "The Legend of Cacodae". She picked up reading where she had left off. Hopefully it would help keep her mind off panicking. Right now she was part way into the second book of the story. Cacodae was coming to the other world where the kids, who defeated the other three masters and the grand master, resided.

Kari had been reading for about a half an hour. She hadn't been able to stop reading since she picked it up. Something had just occurred to her about the story.

_"I've got to tell Tai!" _She thought.

The front door of the house opened. Kari heard it and came out of the bathroom.

"Thank god you're back!" said Kari, "Tai we've got to get out of here. I just realized something about the book."

Kari turned on the light in the house.

"You're not Tai…" she said eyes growing wide.

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The figures were around a fire chanting some strange phrase in unison. They all wore cloaks and hoods. Tai managed to see some outlines of their faces from the firelight. They were the townspeople of Scrumptail. One of the people in a cloak moved forward to the fire. The figure took off the hood.

Tai put his hand to his mouth to cover his gasp. It was Nicole.

Another person in a hood approached Nicole. He removed his hood as well. Underneath was a man with messy shoulder length dark hair. There was something distinctly evil about him. Maybe it was the way he smiled or the look in his eye. Perhaps both but he gave Tai the creeps.

"You did well today," Said the man with dark hair. His deep voice seemed to resonate as he spoke, "Without your warning those kids may have gotten away. Now tonight our ceremony can go on as planned."

"Thank you master but are you sure, these kids are really evil?" asked Nicole, "I've been spending a lot of time with them. They seem like decent people."

"They may seem that way, but they are the same ones who overthrew the great masters reign. They ruthlessly destroyed them then allowed some other to undo all the work the great masters did. Now only one remains. When he returns to this world he will exact his revenge on those rebels, then rule both this world and his own."

"Right. But what were the qualities that those kids used to defeat the other masters?"

"Awful qualities that have will have no place in the new world order of our master."

"Okay…" said Nicole half-heartedly.

"You seem unsure, Nicole," Said the man with dark hair, "Do you doubt the Legend of Cacodae?"

"No, of course not. It's just hard for me to believe that the kids I met are the same ones as in the legend." Answered Nicole.

"Don't worry. Those ones are clever. They seem well meaning on the surface but they're monsters underneath that." Said the dark haired man.

"Right." Said Nicole still without resolution.

"Don't be deceived Nicole." Said the dark haired man.

The dark haired man snapped his fingers. Some more hooded figures came. These ones were different from the other people in hoods. There robes were shorter and had nothing under them. They were floating in mid air. On one arm they held a scythe and on the other was a ball and chain.

Tai was surprised but soon figured out what was going on. He felt stupid for not figuring it out sooner. They were Phantomon.

"Nicole take them and make sure everything is ready for the ceremony." Said the man with dark hair.

"Of course, master." Said Nicole.

Tai turned around and ran to get back to Kari. He didn't care how the two of them had to leave as quickly as possible. There was too much danger going on here and they didn't have their digimon. He just hoped he could remember the way.

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It had been a while. Tai didn't really know how long. It felt like hours but for all he knew it could have been just a few minutes. What he did know was that he was lost.

Had he been here before? Or was this place somewhere different? It was hard enough finding your way in the woods but exponentially harder in the dark. Every part of the forest looked the same. Tai tried to ignore it but there was some fear starting to well up inside of him. He was worried he'd never get out to tell Kari the danger. He bore the crest of courage but he was starting to run out. Tai tried concentrating only on the next breath and step to keep from panicking.

Tai heard a whoosh of air behind him. Instinctively he jumped out the way. He heard the crunch of metal digging into a nearby tree. Tai looked behind him to see a Phantomon, yellow eyes glowing, it's scythe stuck in a tree. It quickly pulled it out and went after Tai. Without hesitation Tai threw the rod in his hands at the Phantomon and bolted as fast as he could.

The Phantomon behind him laughed as it pursued Tai. The adrenaline inside Tai's body kept him from realizing how much he was straining his body. He ran over a mile at a full sprint. The Phantomon was still close behind him. Tai pushed a hanging branch out of his way as he ran. The branch snapped back and hit the Phantomon. It gave Tai enough time to get away.

Tai finally reached the edge of the forest. He was in a different place than where he'd come up but he was out of the woods. He found a street sign and managed to find his way back to his uncle's house.

When he came to the door he was still out of breath. He'd run the entire way. Tai knocked on the door three times. On the third knock the door swung open.

"Come on Kari! We have to go now! Why didn't you lock the door?" Tai asked turning on the lights.

"Did you call the police?" asked Tai checking for Kari in the bathroom, "Kar?"

Tai checked the whole house, which didn't take that long, for Kari.

"Kari!" shouted Tai but she was gone. The book "The Legend of Cacodae" lay flat on the floor.

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**Uh oh what's become of Kari? And what did Kari find in the book? Find out next time!**

**Please review! The more you review the sooner I will get around to writing more of this story.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well after a week long traverse throughout the country I'm back to write this story, sorry for taking so long**

**BIG thanks to reviewers Phillip Clarke, x3AnimeLover, and anon for reviewing. You guys are sweeter than chocolate ice cream covered marshmallow peeps.**

**Kay on to the story **

**I don't own anything but the story itself**

**R&R! **

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Tai checked every room in the small house again. No sign of Kari. Tai was getting worried.

_"Don't worry. Kari's probably just at the police station or someone's house." _Tai told himself.

Tai ran out the door, headed for town. He checked around him to make sure there wasn't any Phantomon around. He didn't stop checking till he got closer to town. In town Tai found that there were no lights on. Tai was used to the city where lights were almost always on somewhere. Tai looked up. He could see so many more stars than he usually could. It wasn't that comfortable feeling, as it meant it was especially dark out.

With his fist, Tai tapped on the door of the police station.

"Hello? Anyone there?" he asked peering into the window.

He kept looking around the town for any person who might be able to help him, but there was nobody. It was as if the town had been abandoned. Not even any of the houses in the town were lit up. This was getting to be really strange.

Everywhere Tai looked around him hoping to find some sign that there were still people in the city. All he got was unnatural silence. There were virtually no signs of life at all. Nothing moved or made a sound. Every moment Tai's eyes and ears grew wider hoping he would hear or see something, but there was nothing.

Back at his uncle's house Tai rummaged through the house trying to find some clue as to where Kari was. Maybe she'd ;left a note. Inside he was beating himself for leaving Kari by herself. Ever since she had almost died due to his negligence, Tai had been very careful about taking care of Kari. Tonight he'd been reckless.

_"I have to find her!" _He shouted over and over in his mind, along with expletives and curses.

Tai hit his head against the wall in the atrium racking his brain to figure out where Kari was. He saw the book Kari had been reading lying on the floor. It had been lying spine up, pages on the floor.

Holding the book in his hands, he started scanning the pages where the book was open. One sentence caught his eye.

_"The child of light can open the gate to the dark realm. Then Cacodae can be reborn."_

Instantly Tai knew where Kari was but he didn't like it.

As Tai walked through the forest he tried to concentrate only on the next step otherwise fear would get a hold of him. He had considered the possibility that Kari had been taken into the forest, but didn't want to believe it was true. However, now he was sure of it. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd do when he got there, but he did know he had to save Kari. Best case scenario Tai would make off with Kari with no one but the ones in hoods getting hurt. It wasn't probable but at the very least Tai had to get Kari's D3 to get reinforcements. Tai was certain the hooded cultists had taken it.

Every couple seconds Tai turned his head to make sure there was no one around. He was expecting someone or something to jump out from somewhere at any moment. He had a flashlight with him but was afraid it would attract too much attention. So he did his best to see using the moonlight. He wanted to use his flashlight. Not being able to see in this situation was messing with his mind.

Overhead a bat flew overhead. Tai was happy to hear it. The silence had been growing eerie. Just then there was another sound. Sticks and brush were crackling and moving. It sounded like someone else walking. Quickly Tai stopped and turned to where he had heard the noise. The noise continued. Again Tai turned. It was hard to tell where the noise was coming from. His eyes scanned the darkness for any sign of movement.

Suddenly Tai felt an arm on his chest pulling him back. Simultaneously a hand covered his mouth killing his scream in his mouth. Tai found himself being pulled behind a tree. As soon as Tai could react he threw the arms off him and was about to strike whoever just grabbed him when his assaulter spoke.

"Wait, I want to help you." Said a feminine voice.

"Nicole?" asked Tai surprised. His fist still hung in the air but it stayed curled ready to strike.

"Yes. I want to help you." Nicole said again pulling back her hood.

""Wait, why should I trust you? I saw you with those cultists. You told that we were leaving! You're the reason we're stuck here, and why my sister's in trouble. If you've done anything to her,"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Nicole said in such an impassioned voice Tai was ready to believe her, "I did that when I believed what master told us, I don't believe him anymore."

"Well then why isn't Kari here? Why haven't you saved her?" Tai asked, still not lowering his defenses.

"I can't oppose them by myself. I wouldn't be able to escape with her. But you're one of the fated. You have power to defeat them, don't you?"

"All you've given me is words so far. You could be lying like you have been since I met you. How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"For one I haven't called our guards and secondly, I'm giving you this."

Nicole reached into her cloak and pulled out a small object. She held it out and Tai snatched it with a swift swipe of his arm. He looked down to his hand to see what was now in his palm It was Kari's D3. He looked up at Nicole suspiciously.

"I know that you use it to channel your power. It would be pretty foolish of me to give it to you if I weren't your ally. You can choose to trust me or not but I give it to you to do what you will." Said Nicole putting her arms back at her side. She bowed her head and waited for Tai to respond.

The D3 still sat in Tai's hand. His hand closed around it as he wondered what he should do about Nicole. He wasn't sure what he should do. Nicole had just handed him something pretty important. On the other hand though she'd been deceiving Tai and Kari this whole time.

"Where's the nearest computer with internet?" Tai finally asked.

"There's a gas station that has one that way. The fastest way will be through this forest. I'll lead you." Said Nicole.

The fact that Nicole wanted to lead Tai through the forest made Tai think twice about following her. She might lead him straight into a trap. There was something about how she sounded that made her seem genuine.

"Okay let's go." Said Tai. At least this way he'd be able to keep an eye on her.

"Follow me." Commanded Nicole turning then setting off.

Tai watched and followed as she weaved her way through the forest. She moved as though she'd spent a lot of time in this forest and knew all it's secrets. Tai did his best to follow, but he often fell behind. When he did, Nicole would wait for him to catch up.

After a while, Nicole stopped going so quickly and the two walked.

"Do you know what made me want to switch sides?" Nicole asked.

Tai didn't respond. He still didn't fully trust Nicole. They'd captured Kari with the help of her deception. On top of that all his thoughts were on getting Kari back. He didn't even want to think about what would occur should something happen to her. Kari was his responsibility.

"You and your sister. You don't seem very bad. The Legend of Cacodae says your strong attributes, the ones that allowed you to defeat the masters, were awful and terrible. Your qualities seem to be quite the opposite. We weren't told much about them but I'm guessing yours is bravery or fearlessness?" replied Nicole, checking her surroundings to get her bearings on where they were.

"Courage." Corrected Tai without looking at her.

"Yeah, that didn't seem like that bad a quality to have. So maybe you aren't really the evil ones like the legend says.," explained Nicole, "The man he brought the book, we call him master. His name is Scott Griswing. He brought that book a long time ago like I said before. It wasn't long before everyone in town read it and started to accept it as true. They became his followers. With their help, Griswing summoned those flying guards with the sickles."

"I've known them as Phantomon." Said Tai with little emotion.

"Yeah. But that was too small for Griswing. He wanted to summon Cacodae himself. I don't know how much you know about the legend, but in it when Cacodae returns the chosen aren't able to defeat him on their power alone. They were able to defeat him though by banishing him to a dark dimension. The only ones who can reopen the gate are the one who opened the gate first with the black device and the child of light, your sister." Said Nicole saying the last two words with regret in her voice.

"We had a different name for Cacodae. We called him Daemon." Said Tai. Things were beginning to make sense.

"When Griswing heard that Eiji was the uncle of Kari, he told him to have her come to Scrumptail. He refused so Griswing…" Nicole paused.

Tai's eyes began to widen in anticipation of what Nicole was going to say next. It was terrible to imagine that his uncle had been murdered just to get Kari to come to the town. Yet from what he knew about evil he wouldn't put it past anyone corrupted by darkness.

"Did away with him?" Tai asked knowing he was right. Nicole nodded.

The hand on Tai's right arm curled into a fist as his teeth gritted against one another. He hadn't known his uncle that well but it made him furious that someone would do that to him. All for their awful plan. It made Tai sick that there were people that maniacal and devious.

The dark masters had been just that way. Tai remembered. Ruthlessly destroying everything in their path to further their own malevolent ends. He thought all that was over. He never imagined it would come back in such a big way here in the real world.

"The four rulers as you call them. We called them the dark masters." Tai explained to Nicole, "They were the most evil force the digital world had ever seen. They destroyed more innocent lives than you could count. It took all our power to defeat them."

"Oh…" said Nicole dismally staring at the ground. The doubts Tai had about whether she had really changed were nearly dispelled. The way she looked and sounded authentically repentant. She had a look on her face that seemed to carry a huge weight of shame for what she'd done.

"Don't worry too much about being a part of them. They deceived you. That's one of the things they do best." Said Tai feeling bad for Nicole.

"It's more than that. I've hurt you. Your uncle's dead and your Kari's in their clutches. And it's my fault." Said Nicole as a few tears started to come from her eyes.

"You can still help make this right." Said Tai putting an arm over Nicole's far shoulder. He was starting to feel sympathy for her. She'd been a pawn, "One of the chosen, as you call them, his name is Ken, he opened the dark gate. He had feelings like yours. He was the digimon emperor. He did all sorts of awful things and did a lot of damage. But he changed and joined us. In the end he helped us destroy some of our greatest enemies. I think you can do a lot of good too."

Tai gave Nicole a little smile.

"I want to," said Nicole wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Then let's go." Said Tai.

Nicole stated into a run through the woods. Tai again followed her rapid pace through the forest.

_"Don't worry Kari we're coming."_

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**Hold on Kari hopefully help is coming**_

_**What did you guys think of that? Please tell me! It really helps the story if I know.**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**So I know I haven't updated this in literally years and probably no one who subscribed to this is around anymore... but I felt like I really wanted to finish this story so here it is. Hopefully someone will still want to read it haha. **

**If you do happen to stumble upon this story it always helps me as a writer to leave me some feedback :) I will always try and respond to reviews and messages. Hope you enjoy it!**

**I don't own Digimon**

Kari opened her eyes and blinked twice. Her vision was blurry. Or maybe it was just dark. There was an orange-ish red glow that provided a little light but it wasn't much. Kari reached her hand over to rub her eye. To her surprise she found she couldn't move her arm. After further inspection she found she couldn't move any of her limbs. She was tied down to some sort of table. Her eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings.

She saw figures in cloaks and hoods surrounding her. Her eyes widened and she screamed. The sound echoed through the woods but the figures next to her stayed still as statues. Her heart raced now. She had no idea what was going on, where she was, or how she got there. Now she was in the middle of the woods at night. She struggled at the ropes that tied her down.

"Tai!" she cried out into the night.

Finally something moved from behind her to right above her face. It was a man with messy dark hair. Though there was a quality about him that just made everything about him seem dark.

"Screaming won't do you any good, girl," He said with a grim smile, "There's no one here that will help you."

Kari tried not to look into his eyes. There was something horrible about them. Yet they somehow seemed familiar too, even though his face didn't. His voice carried a similar stigma. Like a bad memory she didn't want to remember. To Kari's relief, the man took a few steps away and turned his back to her.

"I hope you know you're about to be part of something great. Greater than me and certainly greater than you." Said the man.

"Who are you?" Kari demanded.

"You mean you don't remember?" He asked. He turned to face Kari and his lips turned to a wicked grin.

_"Oh no," _Kari said as she saw the fangs protrude over his lower lip.

"Is this the place?" Asked Tai eying the eerie looking gas station ahead of him.

"Yeah, " replied Nicole leading the way.

"How are we going to get in?" Tai asked keeping a close eye on the gas station and Nicole, anticipating that something might happen.

"We'll just go in the front," Said Nicole. "they never lock the door."

Nicole pushed against the door and sure enough it opened. Tai followed behind her as she went inside. She turned on the lights and went to look for the computer. The gas station looked new and actually very clean as if Tai and Nicole were the first ones to see this gas station since it opened. Tai decided to have a look around. Inside the little store were the kinds of things you usually find at a convenience store: chips, sodas, candy, beer. Tai decided he'd have a drink of the mountain dew as he was getting a little tired.

However, as soon as the liquid touched his tongue he spit it out. That was definitely not the way he remembered Mountain Dew tasting. He checked the expiration date on the bottle. The date said it had at least a year left. He took another sip but it still tasted strange to him. yet at the same time a little familiar. He put it back in the refrigerator. As he did he noticed the light flickering behind him. He watched the light flicker a few times in the reflection closely because he thought he saw something, there was something odd about the shadow. But suddenly he heard Nicole.

"Come here Tai, I got the computer running." Said Nicole from a back room. She motioned for Tai to come in to look at the computer. Tai came in and shut the door behind him.

"So how's this work? Nicole asked.

"It should work like this," Tai pointed Kari's digivice towards the computer and shouted, "Digiport open!"

Immediately the display changed configuration into the familiar portal to the digiworld Tai was used to.

"Alright we're in!" announced Tai taking a seat at the keyboard, "My friend Izzy showed me how to navigate to the different portals in the digital world. Now I just need to find the right one… Aha!"

Tai typed a command and the image on the screen changed to what looked like a persons small cottage. In the corner of the screen there was a robed man who looked like he was working on something in the corner of the cottage.

"Gennai! Tai called out to the person on the screen. Immediately the person on the screen turned around and smiled. He rushed over to the computer.

"Tai! It's been a long time! How are you?" the man greeted.

"Not good!" said Tai as Gennai's expression changed from the seriousness of Tai's voice, "Kari's in trouble! I need you to get Gatomon and Agumon for me."

"Of course Tai, right away! They shouldn't be too far." Answered Gennai who then rushed off to complete Tai's errand.

Tai leaned back in his chair. At least now he knew help was on the way.

"Do you hear that?" asked Nicole pointing at the door.

Tai listened and heard a faint scratching at the door. Then something sounded like it had banged against the door. Then repeated thuds as the door rattled in vain to try and keep the intruder out.

"_Oh shit…" _Tai thought to himself as he moved to stand between Nicole and the door.

The door burst open letting in the light from the store. At first it appeared that no one was there. But then Tai saw a horned figure's shadow creep into the room blotting out the light on the floor coming in from the door. As soon as the shadow had completely come into the room a dark creature leaped out of it. As it did everything that had appeared new seemed to fade away leaving a much older broken down convenience store in its place. The creature was black with long arms and legs, which held claws at the end. It's fanged mouth formed into an evil grin, which Tai knew all too well.

"Devimon," Tai whispered to himself with dread. Now he remembered the taste of the mountain dew. It was the same as the drink from the hotel the digidestined had been tricked into staying in on file island.

"Only my master may use this portal!" Shouted Devimon now towering over Nicole and Tai. As he spoke he flung his right claw down to strike Tai and Nicole. They both leaped out of the way just in time. Devimon laughed as though he were playing with a toy while he took swings at Tai and Nicole each time narrowly missing them. As he attacked more and more parts of the store crumbled to rubble. Then after one strike, a part of a wall fell on Tai's leg pinning him to the ground.

"Well if it isn't the digidestined of courage," laughed Devimon sauntering over to where Tai was. "You were perhaps the most feared among us. Little did I know that when they were telling me your story it would end with me."

Devimon's face once again twisted into an evil grin. Tai struggled to free himself from the rubble but couldn't quite muster enough strength to push it off. Nicole was already running over to Tai to help but Devimon was already upon him.

"Death Hand!" Devimon shouted his right hand aimed for Tai's head at point blank range. Tai closed his eyes and cringed as dark energy formed at Devimon's palm. Then he heard another shout.

"Lightning Claw!"

Devimon cried out as a claw sliced at his back. He turned around to face his attacker when,

"Pepper Breath!"

A fireball hit him straight in the eyes. Tai's heart leaped for joy as he saw Gatomon and Agumon in front of the computer. Nicole helped Tai out of the rubble as Gatomon and Agumon went tag team against Devimon. If Devimon attacked one of them the other would attack.

"Thanks Nicole," said Tai, who was now able to get up and stand, "Al right Agiumon let's end this!"

He pointed his digivice at Agumon and it began to glow. With no glowing, spinning circles or digimon theme music, Agumon digivolved to Greymon.

"You may have digivolved but you're still no match for me!" shouted Devimon defiantly, "Death Hand!"

A dark beam shot from Devimon's hand heading straight for Greymon. Greymon closed his eyes, lowered his head and took the shot straight at his skull. His claw thudded on the ground as his claws hit what was left of the store's floor to keep himself up. Devimon grinned seeing the results of his work. But then Greymon's eyes opened revealing unadulterated fury.

"What!?" Devimon cried out, "That blast would have killed a Monochromon!"

"A Greymon's skull is even tougher than a Monochromon," said Greymon as whisps of fire began to form at the tips of his mouth, "Nove Blast!"

A huge fireball flew from Greymon's mouth and hit Devimon in the chest. Devimon stumbled back trying to hold himself up after the blast.

"Lighning claw!" shouted Gatomon following up Greymon's attack with one of her own. The attack opened up a small wound in Devimon's chest. That was all the opening Greymon needed. Without hesitation he rammed Devimon through with his horn. Devimon cried out and he started to disintegrate.

"This is only a taste of what is in store for you digidestined of courage. Once they summon Him there will be no digimon who can stand in our way." Cackled Devimon in his final taunt.

Tai fell to the ground as the adrenaline from the battle drained out of him. Nicole just stood there, still in transfixed by everything she had just seen. Greymon de-digivolved to agumon and ran over to Tai. Tai let his lips form into a small smile as he saw Agumon coming with Gatomon close behind.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you guys! Thanks for saving me." Said Tai, "Sorry is has to be like this."

"Don't worry about it, we're always happy to help." Said Agumon his fangs forming a toothy grin.

"What's happened to Kari?" asked Gatomon with great concern.

"She's been…" Tai paused as he struggled to say it, "kidnapped by Phantomon. They're trying to use her to open the dark gate to bring Daemon back!"

"Oh no!" Gatomon and Agumon both cried out in unison.

"He was one of the worst!" said Gatomon.

"You're telling me! We have to get to Kari as soon as we can!" Tai said emphatically

"Then let's go, Tai and…" said Agumon turning toward Nicole.

"Oh yeah this is Nicole. She's…. a friend." Said Tai. Nicole broke out of her trance when she heard her name.

"Hi, I'm Agumon and this is Gatomon." Introduced Agumon extending his claw in a sort of handshake. Nicole jumped back a bit.

"It's ok Nicole, these are my friends." Said Tai. Nicole looked at Tai then back at the digimon. Nervously took Agumon's claw and shook it. Tai pushed himself up to get back on his feet.

"Ow!" he shouted. There was a sharp pain in his right ankle where debris had fallen onto it. He put some weight on it and tried to step. Again there was a sharp pain.

"I think I hurt my ankle." He announced shifting his weight over to his left leg. Nicole bent down to look at his ankle.

"It definitely looks swollen." She said after some examination.

"Well this will slow us down." muttered Tai slightly annoyed with himself, "Gatomon you take the D3 and go to Kari. Can you follow our scent back through the woods?"

"Of course," replied Gatomon, "and if Kari's close I know I'll be able to smell her."

"Great!" said Tai tossing her the D3, "as long as you can get there before they summon Daemon you'll only have a few Phantomon to deal with."

"Too easy," said Gatomon as warrior lust began to creep into her eyes.

"We'll catch up as soon as we can." Said Tai, "I'm counting on you Gatomon."

"I'll save Kari, or die trying." Said Gatomon. With that she sprinted into the woods eyes set straight into the woods.

**Sorry for some of the sarcasm for the digivolution parts. Those sequences just got kind of annoying in the original show :P**

**Please let me know what you think. I do plan on finishing this story hopefully soon. I'd forgotten how much fun I have writing and hopefully I'll have more time soon**

**Cheers all! Stay awesome**


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